Birds, Butterflies and Insects at Kindred Open Studios

Kindred Studios, opened its doors during the last weekend of September for the general public to see and buy the work of talented makers and artists.

Kindred Studios is a vibrant community of makers and artists across a wide spectrum of creative talent - art, sculpture, fashion, photography, gilding and insect pinning to name just a few.  Currently housed in a pop up location off Goldhawk Road and next door to Shepherds Bush Market, it will eventually move to a more permanent site in Hammersmith in 2022. 

I visited the open studios on the Sunday, grabbing a coffee in the Kindred Cafe before working my way around corridor after corridor of studios intertwined around a leafy courtyard.  

I was fascinated to meet UC Studio who are entomologists. They source dried butterflies and insects from farmers based in remote areas across Peru, Costa Rica, Philippines, Indonesia and Kenya. The butterflies and insects live in natural habitats and at the end of their short life spans are collected and dried. Ethically they argue that this provides the farmers with an invaluable source of income, which encourages them to maintain the flora and fauna of the surrounding area that the insects need in order to survive.

UC Studio arranges the butterflies and insects by colour to make stunning decorative pieces -either framed or encased in antique domes.

www.ucstudio.co.uk

Perhaps I was drawn to animals at Kindred Studio as Camila Lopes' bird illustrations also caught my eye.   A peacock, an ostrich and a pelican in complimentary colours of blue, black, green, purple and orange were arranged in a trio along the wall of her shared studio. Camila only had the originals on display, but there was so much buzz around her work that she plans to roll them out as prints and possibly a wallpaper collection.

Camila's website is not yet live but she can be found at Kindred Studios.

www.kindredstudios.co.uk

Spied on my way out of Kindred Studios and at the mouth of Shepherds Bush Market is Hawks Nest, an outdoor venue where you can enjoy pizzas and cocktails in a heated garden surrounded by featured artists. No time to stop this time, but I will be making a booking in the future for sure.

the-hawks-nest.co.uk